PRINCETON, N.J. – The Saint Leo women's tennis team has jumped to No. 7 in the first spring edition of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Poll, it was announced on Thursday by ITA officials.

Off to an outstanding start in 2013, the Lions are 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the Sunshine State Conference. Saint Leo's only two losses came at the hands of defending Division II Champions and top-ranked Armstrong Atlantic and No. 4 Barry, the defending conference champions.

The Lions were the only team from outside of the top 10 to jump into single digits in the rankings as they moved from their preseason No. 12 spot. Helping their cause was a 5-4 victory against then-No. 4 Lynn University on February 17. The victory was the program's first-ever over the Fighting Knights and it helped Saint Leo jump Lynn in the rankings.

Barry, Lynn and Saint Leo are the only SSC representatives in the top 10 as eight of the nine conference schools are represented in the top 25.

On the men's side, the Lions now find themselves ranked No. 15 after a 5-3 start in a tough early-season schedule. With a numbers of matches with teams in the top 10 behind them, the Lions will look to power through March and climb back up the rankings.

For more on the nationally-ranked tennis teams visit SaintLeoLions.com. Also, be sure to 'Follow' the Lions on Twitter and 'Like' the Lions on Facebook.